1978 Independence Bowl

August 2023 March 2026 1978 Independence Bowl 1978 East Carolina Pirates East Carolina University Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech University 8–3 Independent 6–4 Southland Conference Pat Dye Maxie Lambright 14 7 7 7 0 10 3 0 December 16 State Fair Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana FB Theodore Sutton, ECU (Offensive)DE Zack Valentine, ECU (Defensive) Vance Carlson (Big Eight) 31,054 100,000 Mizlou In the 1978 Independence Bowl, the East Carolina Pirates defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 35–13. Game summary The East Carolina Pirates forced four fumbles and intercepted Louisiana Tech Bulldogs quarterback Eric Barkley three times en route to victory. ECU took control of the game early, scoring twice in the first quarter. The Pirates pushed their lead to 21–0 on a touchdown run early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs answered less than two minutes later with a 32-yard touchdown strike. Tech cut the lead to 21–10 with a 36-yard field goal less than a minute before the end of the half. Tech's Swilley kicked another 36-yard field goal six minutes into the third quarter. Pirate running back Theodore Sutton ran 45 yards for a touchdown with seven minutes remaining in the quarter. The Pirates scored another touchdown late in the game. ECU totaled 278 yards rushing, while holding the Bulldogs to 12 yards on the ground.http://independencebowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-IBowl-Media-Guide.pdf Archived copy 2015-08-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20150719000404/http://independencebowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-IBowl-Media-Guide.pdf 2015-07-19 dead Scoring summary ECU La. Tech 1 7:53 ECU 3 16 RushTD Anthony Collins 3 good Bill Lamm 7 0 1 0:39 ECU 8 49 3:30 RushTD Leander Green 1 good Bill Lamm 14 0 2 10:47 ECU 6 31 2:15 RushTD Anthony Collins 1 good Bill Lamm 21 0 2 9:05 La. Tech 5 65 1:42 RecTD Scooter Spruiell Keith Thibodeaux 32 good Keith Swilley 21 7 2 0:57 La. Tech 7 32 1:29 FG 36 Keith Swilley 21 10 3 8:54 La. Tech 9 38 4:25 FG 36 Keith Swilley 21 13 3 6:57 ECU 5 80 1:57 RushTD Theodore Sutton 45 good Bill Lamm 28 13 4 3:20 ECU 10 66 4:43 RushTD Eddie Hicks 2 good Bill Lamm 35 13 35 13 Statistics Pirates 14 7 7 7 Bulldogs 0 10 3 0 Statistics ECU La. Tech First downs 17 18 Total offense, yards 332 275Rushes-yards (net) 67–278 33–12 Passing yards (net) 54 263Passes, Comp-Att-Int 4–13–0 18–52–3 Time of Possession Team Category Player Statistics ECU Passing Leander Green 4/13, 54 yds Rushing Theodore Sutton 17 car, 143 yds, 1 TD Receiving Terry Gallaher 3 rec, 33 yds La. Tech Passing Eric Barkley 12/39, 160 yds, 3 INT Rushing Jessie Clark 6 car, 28 yds Receiving Scooter Spruiell 7 rec, 130 yds, 1 TD References Independence Bowl Category:Independence Bowl Category:East Carolina Pirates football bowl games Category:Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football bowl games Category:December 1978 sports events in the United States Category:1978 in sports in Louisiana